The campaign for the 2024 presidential election in the United States has entered its home stretch. Kamala Harris turns sixty this Sunday, October 20, but it is the age of Donald Trump that she especially wants to talk about, his rival for the White House being according to her “unstable” and too worn out to lead the country again. After having poisoned the campaign of outgoing President Joe Biden, to the point of causing his premature withdrawal from the competition last July, the question of age now places the Republican candidate on the defensive.
16 days before the presidential election, the Democratic vice-president and the 78-year-old Republican billionaire are working hard in a hectic and increasingly tense race. L’Express summarizes the main news of the week for you.
Bizarre moment of the week: Trump interrupts a meeting… to listen to music for 30 minutes
On Monday, October 14, Donald Trump interrupted a public question-and-answer session with voters, preferring to stay on stage listening to music for more than 30 minutes. This strange scene, derided by Democrats, took place in Oaks, Pennsylvania. The event, in an apparently poorly air-conditioned room, was interrupted when two spectators felt unwell, requiring the intervention of first aiders. That’s when the Republican candidate listened to music.
Donald Trump is often described as very attached to his favorite playlists, which he enjoys blasting on his private plane or at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. But, here, the astonishment came from the fact that the Republican candidate for the presidential election did not resume his question-and-answer session.
Denial of the week: Vance says Trump didn’t lose in 2020
For weeks, JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has faced repeated questions about the 2020 election, and whether he thinks former President Donald Trump lost. On Wednesday, October 16, during a meeting in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, he categorically answered: “no.”
That day, a reporter asked him the following question: “What message do you think it sends to independent voters when you don’t directly answer the question: Did Donald Trump lose in 2020?” “I’ve answered that question directly a million times,” JD Vance said at the time. “I think there were some serious problems in 2020,” he continued. “So did Donald Trump lose the election? Not in the words I would use,” JD Vance said.
“What I know, what I know verifiably, is that in 2020, big tech companies censored Americans to stop them from talking about things like the Hunter Biden laptop story. And that had a major, major consequence on the election,” he said. In the run-up to the 2020 election, the contents of a laptop belonging to Joe Biden’s son were sold to news outlets, with most refusing to publish its contents for fear of possible desire for Russian disinformation.
Interview of the week: Harris on Fox News
Kamala Harris gave an interview to Fox News, the favorite channel of American conservatives, on Wednesday. A first, intended to seduce an electorate not very sensitive to his speeches. The exchange with Bret Baier, a veteran journalist for the channel, was tense several times. The Democratic candidate and the presenter sometimes spoke at the same time during this thirty-minute interview. Kamala Harris was particularly pushed around on the immigration issue, or when she was asked to say whether she had noticed a cognitive decline in Joe Biden.
Bargain of the Week: Trump Hotels Overcharged Secret Service, Report Says
A report published Friday, October 18 by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee gave additional details compared to their previous conclusion of 2022. According to it, which is based on the chamber records of Trump International Washington Hotel between September 2017 and August 2018, the hotel billed the Secret Service, responsible for protecting senior American political figures, higher rates than usual government rates.
During Donald Trump’s presidency, his Washington hotel billed the Secret Service 300% more than standard government rates on several occasions. The report’s authors argue that the ex-president violated the Constitution’s foreign and domestic emoluments provisions, which were intended to prevent the president and other federal officials from enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers.
Supporters of the week: Harris defended by Lizzo and Usher
Kamala Harris received the support of stars Lizzo and Usher on Saturday October 19 in key states for the presidential election. In Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, the Democratic candidate, who pounded Donald Trump on the issue of access to abortion, was accompanied by the famous singer Usher. “I’m counting on you. We can make a difference in these elections in Georgia,” Usher said. In Detroit, where the candidate delivered a lightning six-minute speech on Saturday, it was the singer Lizzo who preceded her on stage.
Worry of the week: the ghost of the 2016 defeat haunts the Democrats
Two weeks before the vote, the trauma linked to the defeat of the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton, is once again occupying minds as the polls tighten. “Undecided voters are not yet convinced by what Kamala Harris is proposing; however, there is urgency,” points out William Galston, researcher at the Brookings Institution. A wind of panic seems to be blowing through the Democratic ranks: what if Kamala Harris was affected by Hillary Clinton syndrome?
Expense of the week: Elon Musk’s (big) check
Donald Trump can count on the growing involvement of Elon Musk in his campaign. In addition to putting his financial power at the service of the Republican, the boss of Tesla, SpaceX and X embarked on a whirlwind tour of Pennsylvania to rally voters.
On Saturday, he handed a check for $1 million to a Harrisburg resident, promising to make such a gift to a different person drawn at random every day until November 5. The only criterion: having signed your petition on freedom of expression and the right to own a weapon, guaranteed by the American Constitution. “It seems like a good way to spend money,” the multi-billionaire said.